Manchester United will make an eagerly-anticipated return to action on Saturday teatime following the completion of the international break, determined to regain some positive form and momentum after a narrow 1-0 defeat at Chelsea last time out.

While that result was frustrating, the stats for the campaign are still encouraging and suggest the Reds are heading in a brighter direction after 18 matches played in all competitions.

Check out some of our favourite numbers and facts ahead of this weekend’s clash with Newcastle, with help from the new edition of Inside United magazine...

FOOTBALL IS ABOUT GOALS
At the current stage of the 2016/17 season, United had only scored 28 goals and that number has increased by 12 this term. Eleven different Reds have found the net to tally 40 finishes in total.

That adds up to an average of 2.22 goals per game, which is higher than the 1.55 of last campaign.

WHEN, WHERE AND HOW ARE WE SCORING?
A quick glance at our goal timings shows we’re bagging more than three times as many goals in the final 15 minutes of matches this season, scoring 14 in total - which is 10 more than last season.

Minutes 1 to 15: Four goals, up by three from 2016/17
Minutes 16 to 30: Five goals, up by three from 2016/17
Minutes 31 to 45: Seven goals, down by four from 2016/17
Minutes 46 to 60: Seven goals, up by three from 2016/17
Minutes 61 to 75: Three goals, down by three from 2016/17
Minutes 76 to 90: 14 goals, up by 10 from 2016/17

On the subject of scoring methods, our research shows 23 of our 40 goals came via a right boot, with eight from the left, another eight from the head and one courtesy of an own goal (Benfica's Mile Svilar).

In terms of location, the majority of strikes (25) have predictably been tallied inside the penalty area. Another 11 came from the six-yard zone and four from outside the box. Romelu Lukaku is our top scorer on 11, which is two more than our lead marksman at this stage of 16/17, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

NECK AND NECK IN THE ASSISTS LEAGUE
Anthony Martial, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marcus Rashford have all set up six goals apiece across all competitions. They are followed by Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba on three assists each.

NONE SHALL PASS
The Reds recorded five clean sheets in the seven matches prior to November’s international break – on the way to becoming the first team (and only, so far) this season to deny Liverpool a goal at Anfield, and the second team to shut Spurs out in 2017/18. That helped us to a tally of 12 clean sheets in the season’s first 18 games – an impressive ratio of two clean sheets every three matches.

HOMELAND SECURITY
No Premier League side has scored at Old Trafford during 2017/18. The last opponent to score a top-flight goal from open play in M16 was Everton's Phil Jagielka, on 4 April 2017. That’s a stretch of 228 days up to this Saturday’s match against Newcastle. The four league goals we have conceded at home during this period came from two penalties, a free-kick and a corner.

OUR PREMIER LEAGUE TOP FIVES
Minutes: De Gea (990), Lukaku (990), Matic (990), Valencia (990), Jones (895)
Touches: Matic (960), Valencia (855), Jones (633), Mkhitaryan (613), Young (526)
Passes: Matic (780), Valencia (577), Jones (501), Mkhitaryan (435), Herrera (374)
Shots: Lukaku (38), Rashford (25), Pogba (17), Mkhitaryan (13), Martial (11)
Crosses: Mkhitaryan (40), Valencia (36), Mata (32), Young (31), Rashford (28)
Tackles: Herrera (22), Matic (20), Valencia (19), Fellaini (12), Mkhitaryan (12)
Interceptions: Jones (20), Matic (20), Bailly (13), Herrera (13), Young (13)
Clearances: Jones (61), Bailly (44), Smalling (26), Valencia (25), Young (18)

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